From left to right in Sweden 1967
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- Опубликовано: 12 мар 2013
- In 1967, Sweden changed from left- to right-hand traffic. After 233 years on the left side, it was now time to cross over the road. This magic moment took place on September 3rd at 06.00 hours. This short movie shows sequences from Malmö streets on both sides of the break point.
Авто/Мото
I was in Sweden the week before the change, driving a Volvo I picked up there on their delivery abroad program. Everyone was talking about the upcoming change. All the cars were already left hand drive (steering wheel on the left) so it was very difficult for drivers to see ahead of the car in front of them when trying to pass. Swedes told me they would try to pick up hitchhikers so they had someone in the passenger seat to help them when passing. They couldn't wait to drive on the right.
I remember seeing the new traffic signals and signs on the right sides of the roads, covered up, waiting for the big day (Sept 3) when they would be uncovered.
I wish I could find a video showing the actual moment when drivers were told to drive across the road! As I remember it, drivers who were on the road at 6:00pm were going to pull over to the shoulder, stop, and tune in to a certain radio station where they would wait for the signal to cross to the other side. Can you imagine what that must have been like? Keep in mind there would be lines of cars on both sides of the road, waiting to cross in front of each other!
Did it go smoothly or was it chaotic?
The cars in Sweden always had the driving wheel on left side
6PM? Why the hell 6PM? Just before it got dark?
deadballo I didn`t write "6 PM". It was 6 o`clock in the morning. Here in Sweden, we write 18.00 instead of 6 PM. And this was in September. At 6 PM, it`s still daylight for another 2 - 3 hours.
Tommy Nilsson Mitch said 6PM
This really is a gem of a film! Not only does it depict everyday traffic from the eyes (and camera) of an amateur filmmaker, it also highlights the fact that this was such a major event that it was worth filming it so that the memory could be saved for posterity.
Superb video. Interesting not just for the driving change but fashions and urban scenery too.
+whatlep Correct. For the first time in over 200 years the Swedes were allowed to change their underwear and socks as well. The left sock went unto the right foot and vice versa. The underwear was turned inside out and worn again. Currently the Riksdag is debating about the introduction of washing machines and whether to start with analog ones or move to digital technology immediately. But will the drum rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise ?
11:18 - The Volkswagen accidentally starting to aim for the left side of the road from a turn reminded me of a very similar thing I saw in 1971 when two of the main streets in my city were made one-way. A VW on the other side of an intersection from me turned right onto one of these streets and was now facing traffic coming the "wrong" way. The driver immediately realized his mistake and continued a short distance till he could turn into the parking lot of a condo where he turned around.
I was a fresh graduate as a Computer Programmer when I got the assignment to travel to Stockholm, Sweden, to work on Signal Switching Project. It was probably the most demanding and fascinating project that I ever worked. Sweden had a very congenial traffic systems where passing / overtaking was carried out by the overtaken vehicle moving to the left letting the overtaker passing. This was a slow road and not well developed so the cost of making and maintaining this road was less than half. Sweden is a very long country mostly not densely populated. It was a good Traffic Systems.
1- I'm confused: they drove on the left for so many years and every car was LHD???
2- Wow, "dashcamming" in 1967? The swedish people were very ahead of their time.
They were riding horses and shit on the LHS, the cars are made in the US where we are on the RHS. They were like, I ain't driving on the right just cause the god damn steering wheel is on the left.
It's because when first cars arrived in Sweden, the roads were very narrow and windy. So there was a need for driver to observe the outer wheel to avoid getting off road or fall. And that's why many cars were LHD!
I'm fairly sure most of their cars came from Germany, not the US! (Although there is a big be-finned US car in the film). And they wanted to sell their cars to Germany and the rest of Europe, so they imported and exported entirely LHD cars.
Module79L most cars were still LHD and someone with those chunky cameras filmed it inside a car
@@PopeLando I'm not sure that is the reason; after all, German and other cars were sold in Britain at the same time in RHD versions. So having LHD cars in Sweden at the time was a conscious choice.
VW seemed to have a nice touch in Sweden back those days.
Absolutely nice video.
I was living in Switzerland at the time and remember very well TV showing how all new traffic signs were hanged, covered with plastic and on the scheduled date, overnight, the covers were switched. Very interesting.
In Switzerland the driving side is left to the individual cantons decided by referendums. So watch the boundary signs presenting the barcode for your smartphone navigation system !
What.? No exceptions in CH, even under the ocasional landsgemeinde rule. Federal regulations apply to conform European regulations & Schengen space conditions
Does that mean, that in Switzerland - if they decide so cantonbased - traffic can be switched to different that tehy are now using?
+Billy Bob Bunton That's why Hitler never invaded Switzerland as this "democratic" confusion tactic spoiled all his strict planning.
These days, the country is high on the agenda of adventurers, but at the same time does rate somewhere in indefinable, when it comes to the happiness index. Can't blame the Swiss for feeling that way...
You didn't really answered to my question.
Do they have the power - cantonbased - to decide which lane of the road they are using?
I'm a Brit that lives in Germany. I've never accidently drove on a wrong side of the road over here but did it a couple of times in the UK when I had a left hand drive car in my youth...
Amazing footage.
WOW!! I didn't know that in Sweden they were driving on the left!!!!!
ME TOO!
They held a national referendum, 80% voted continue on left; 20% voted change to right! The minority obviously won.
@Arch Stanton 2016; UK 48% remain 52% leave EU, will that minority win? makes interesting comparison.
@Arch Stanton or save the cost of a referendum and just carry out the deed
@Arch Stanton Than such government need a bullet in the back of their skulls to know their fucking place :-) "for the greater good" of course :-)
This indicates how well rules and systems are integrated within the Swedes.... Not an easy task to bring about this change... even though on paper it sounds easy.
Some of the comments below are asking why people are taping the headlights. The reason for this is that when the headlight is on dipped beam it is dipped to the left when driving on the left and vice versa for driving on the right so taping the headlight does not convert the direction of the light but stops it from dipping to the left. If left in its dipped to the left position then after the changeover to driving on the right the headlight would be dipped into the path of the oncoming traffic.
To add for any US people reading this, European market cars don't share the flat beam of US cars, hence there being separate LHD and RHD headlights. I think the idea is for you to still be able to see further down the road even when your lights are dipped for an oncoming vehicle, or at least be able to see where the edge of the road is further ahead while not blinding the oncoming vehicle. I presume this design choice was made because of narrower roads being more common here than in the US, being able to see you're not about to drive off the edge of the road while passing an oncoming vehicle is more practical than saving money on manufacturing a more basic headlight lens.
It must have been somewhat nerve wracking driving in the lane, when the road markings have the arrows pointing the other way.
11:45 I don't get it, what happens behind the cop?
TheCuber2400 som1 please tell me I rewatched like 4 times
Ian Witten The black car is no stoping, look at the Policeman.
Fun fact: Swedish underground/subway trains still drive on the left.
Sooo... when is the UK finally going to get with the program? Lol...
I hope never, left hand traffic is so cool
Left is waaaaaaaaaaaaay easier!
But it makes everything so confusing lol :(
Em... you sure about that? www.rhinocarhire.com/CorporateSite/media/Blog-Images/Drive-on-Left.jpg
+Sebizzar Might not seem like it on the map, but that actually accounts for 35% of the worlds population.
Pretty music! Malmö och Skåne tillhör Danmark!
It must have been a funny, funny day.;p
What happened to all the right hand drive cars in Sweden? For how many years or even decades were there still cars in Sweden being driven that had steering wheel on its right? Did dealers have to stop selling cars with RHD? How about steering wheels and doors of public busses? Railroad crossing barriers? Did they have to be reconstructed? That must have been a huge, an enormous cost for the country.
Its must have been exciting to drive a car with the steering wheel on the right hand side on the right side of the road.
John Azhderian sure.. but just like IT was before the change where the cars where left hand drive and we drove on the left
Stuff You Should Know brought me here. At least nobody was on their cell phone while driving during this time LOL...
I found this pretty interesting
The change-over occurred in Stockholm on the final day the trams operated.
Funny how so many electric tram and trolleybus systems were wound down during the 1950s and 60s in favour of diesel buses. (London trams ended in '52 and trolleybuses in '62). And now electric travel is seen as the way to go!
that's a huge change...
Yes, it was. But there were no problems at all and the traffic flowed at a calm and pleasant pace from the very first moment.
How come in this video the drivers sit on the left side of the cars? Did all the people purchase new LHD cars after 3-9-1967?
9:27 Does anyone know where in Malmö this is? Is the cool building at the end of the street still there?
Föreningsgatan (street) at the Triangle. The house was demolished in 1969.
@@ranemson1 Dang that’s a bummer, but amazing you could give an answer! Thank you!
edit: Yesssss thank you, I blundered my way through some Swedish blogs and found clearer pictures of that place. I love the from of it from the side where you can see layers of buildings behind it.
What were those people doing to their headlights? And why was it necessary to do anything with headlights anyway? Headlights are supposed to just light the road directly in front of your vehicle, regardless of whether it's on the left or the right.
Because they're angled in such away to appose oncoming traffic as not to blind the drivers. If they didn't change them, two opposing cars would blind themselves..
New sold cars had stickers on headlight to not blind oncoming traffic until change .
High beams = straight ahead. Low beams = down and toward the edge of the road: leftward if motorists drive on the left, otherwise right. Re-aiming the low beams was necessary.
fun times
imagine going on a vacation in the U.K for an entire week and then all of the sudden everyone in Stockholm is driving on the right
Why did they need to prepare their headlights for right-hand traffic? Aren't headlights, headlights around the globe?
headlight beams are not symmetrical : upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Low_beam_light_pattern_for_right-hand_traffic.svg/800px-Low_beam_light_pattern_for_right-hand_traffic.svg.png
I'm a traffic engineering student and I've just studied a theory that said left hand driving (like the one in UK) is more safer than RHDriving. Looking more on Impacts Sweden suffered during the change. In youtube, a channel Wendover production, even has a video describing the advantages.
M3TALH3AD I live in England but I don't like RHD cars and Left hand traffic
It is said that it's easier to do a right turn in left hand traffic, than to do a left turn in right hand traffic.
I think Burma should do the same, changing back to left...Most of countries surrounding Burma (Like India, Bangladesh and Thailand drives on the left) while only China and Laos drives on the right...Then, most Burma's cars are RHD. And Rwanda also. And Clyde D'souze, Most of India's border countries drives on left not right, only China drives on the right, the rest (Pakistan,Bhutan,Nepal,Bangladesh,Sri Lanka and The Maldives are RHD countries)
***** Exactly - Burma/Myanmar changed to driving on the right because Ne Win consulted a soothsayer, having previously closed the country's borders, while his successors started issuing currency in denominations of 45 kyat. Hardly an example to follow.
The entire world should switch to RHD and unify their electric outlets.
Oh, I see.
What is that thing they do with their headlights when traffic switched to the right?
The headlamps were tuned for driving on the right so they covered them up slightly to avoid blinding oncoming traffic... the cars where lhd already.
Oh! Ok. Thanks!
Some countries even have their vehicles fitted with a light in the middle of the roof.
Hang on...
I have just been informed, that that configuration is only reserved for railway engines. So move to the side, when such vehicle is heading your way.
Well...
How do you get off the tracks...? Fast !!!...?
Porsche and Volvo as police Cars?
Oliver Bold and plymouth valiants :)
Hmm, not HD?
Så jobbig musik.
Har du provat att stänga av den?? Den möjligheten lär finnas.
People must have drove 15kmph or slower...lol..we drive left in Fiji like the UK..
What is the name of the song? 1st and 3rd one
I think the first one is Scott Joplin.
@@e7jonas Gladiolus Rag
I am an indian have visited usa and australia and have to say they made a wrong switch I love driving on the left and drive an i10 automatic and can only think of driving on the left just my thoughts thoghts though
I hope you only drove on the left in Australia, though. ;)
Australia drives on the left
+Bingo But that is only for the holders of an Australian or NZ license. Tourists are allowed to drive on the side they are more familiar with. The same accounts for migrants working as taxi drivers until they get their Australian license.
Thies so as European in Australia I'm allowed to drive on the right side?
+Ian Witten I suggest you test the daredevil in you on a long and straight road such as the Nullarbor Highway (one section is running for 110km without the slightest gradiation of a bend) first, preferably with a Road Train (Semi Trailer with several Trailers in tow) as a test opponent. See how far you will get with your idea.
Not recommended for metropolitan roads (Sydney or Melbourne) in peak hour time (4 or 5 pm) as the traffic will be too slow and dense to sort out any winner. You will soon find, following the principle "Learning by doing", which side of the road is predominantly preferred. Good luck with your project.
7:58 nice...
6:15 tycker det är lite charmigt att polisen köpte in Porsche 911or förr :)
I don't get the bit about the headlights ... what was that all about??
Unlike in the USA, where headlamps dip straight down, in Europe headlamps dip down and to the side (right on left hand drive roads and vice versa) to take the dipped beam away from the eyes of oncoming drivers.
That is what is supposed to happen, but in the UK, it is impossible to drive at night without getting dazzled by badly adjusted headlamps and even more so on roads with bends (we have a lot of roads like that- never learnt a thing from the Romans!). I do however, drive a Chevrolet which has downward dipped headlamps.
When driving at night, one should dim headlamps when there're oncoming vehicles anyway.
Preparing the headlamps?????
Unlike in the USA, where headlamps dip straight down, in Europe headlamps dip down and to the side (right on left hand drive roads and vice versa) to take the dipped beam away from the eyes of oncoming drivers.
MGA och mot slutet tror jag det kom en BMW -02
war damals schwer, heute unmöglich.
It's bad that metro and railways did not switch
The streetcars did switch, as you can see in this video. But they were running on the same roads as the motor vehicles were.
7:46 What was done to the headlights?
getting a sticker out. This sticker was made not to blind incoming drivers on the right
@@ludovisuis So they still drove left as you drove right?
@@yixnorb5971 what?
@@ludovisuis I figured the only way your headlights could blind oncoming drivers is if they were headed right for you in the same lane you were in because they forgot about the change.
@@yixnorb5971 no sorry I mean not blinding drivers on YOUR right
Why did they switchted ? I can´t see nothing wrong driving on the left hand side of the road
Many years ago. I actually forgot why. But it actually went smoothly despite many fearing the opposite.
It was too confusing for visiting Norwegians.
Did Sweden lose its trams ever since?
I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, but why did Sweden decide to change traffic lanes. I'm curious.
They did it to align with the right-hand traffic of neighboring countries such as Denmark, Norway and Finland. :)
DrivableJonatan The same change I am planning and campaigning it to do it in India by changing it from left to right due to same reasons as Sweden do.
Thank you very much for the responses. It makes sense to me now.
***** And what's the difference? Why bother changing from one side to another. It's all the same except for someone who comes from a country where it's the opposite. Why create problems that don't need to be created. Spend money switching road signs around, traffic lights, etc. What's the big deal? It's a waste of time and money.
Because in India along with Pakistan,Nepal etc. the neighboring countries e.g.Afghanistan,China etc. drives on the right and India unlike UK is a peninsula,not an Island which means there would be more road connections to nations of both left and right hand side.And because of that I want to change sides to align with our neighboring countries for good interoperability just like Sweden (which is not an Island nation like UK).
And another small reason is that there are increasing demands for high class LHD vehicles and equipments here than RHD ones.And there would be wastage in the short run,but a huge benefit in the long run.And by the way,I don't think it would be that expensive as you think as the same signboard, lights etc. will be switched to opposite side.
And another thing is that if we majority of Indian people rejects my plan,I am ready to accept it with some reasons and give some good alternatives.
Didn't this cause any fatal accidents ?
Especially in the remote North ?
PaulLonden nope only after 2yrs
I hope UK and Ireland will switch in the future... They will get more visitors by car from the mainland of Europe.
Then what would happen to OZ and NZ, and other parts of Africa and Asia too like SA, India, Japan and Thailand etc
Johnathan Riley I don't know about OZ, NZ etc. but India has a need for changeover because just like Sweden it's neighbors drive on the right and hence many vehicles especially heavy ones are made in India as India cannot import them from its neighbors as they don't make RHD vehicles needed in India and because India like Ghana and Nigeria is not a British colony anymore.
What about the people who want to visit because to try left-hand traffic?
*****
That's because Napoleon, who was left handed, obligated to right-hand traffic. And that traffic spread to most of the world. Left-hand traffic was designed to draw your dagger or sword with your right hand and counteract quckly.
And right hand traffic is designed to carry large postilion wagons.
Mercedes made in 1990ies the F400 a car without a steering Wheel and having Sticks like in a plane. You culd drive that car from the right or the lef side. That would be the best solution to the Problem.
Yeah, and reduce driver fatigue in a more efficient way, as such vehicles, fitted with an extra tank, could go long distance with the drivers, sharing the journey, wouldn't have to stop for changing seats. BRING MORE ON !
This right-drive Yank met his first left-drive ordeal when he hired a car in 1975 Ireland.
That first night in Cork after five hours of Guinness, darts and pub saw me heading back to my room feverishly shifting my door handle during emergencies😎🇮🇪🇮🇪!
My ,,ideal" and customary wheels and pub partnership stopped that night!
...even so...strictly sober thereafter:
This stupid Yank parallel parked and always ended up six feet away from the pavement / sidewalk. Our peripheral vision is also conditioned, it seems.
What a testimonial to our Swedes for this successful overnight change! But may one chuckle considering any prolonged piece-meal application of this change? Gads!
One day I’ll go to Belgium so I can drive on the left lane!
You mean Britain?
@@boumbh It was very funny. I wonder if that paper always makes its April Fools jokes about Flanders in French, and maybe the ones about Bruxelles in Vlaams?
You mean, you are Britain?
@@ieyadkamarulzaman5768 No, you might have been confused.
boumbh ; many belgians think they are british almost all the time driving on the left hand side of the road and I am proud to tell that I got many right handed british cars here in belgium, and still have them
7:39
why did they change sides
James Troke, 'cos EU mandated
1967?
Sweden joined EU in 1995
Because driving in the left side is fucked up.
As some here said that a lot of their vehicles came from the USA and Germany.
Viktor Aggerholm that’s what a lot of people from rhd countries would say
Please Sweden change right to left whatever you need I will do but please
Why?
Howcome nobody is eating Kentucky Fried Chicken in these videos?
Vrej Egon Spengler why do they need to
We don’t have that crap back then. Sadly we have it nowadays
Because it’s 1967 in Sweden dumbass
N
užas božji
britan your next
Nothing would ever go this smoothly in the U.S. The Democrats would go nuts!!!
Republicans. It's Republicans who would go nuts. Changing the side the entire nation drives on is the kind of thing we in Europe expect our governments to do, but is totally anathema to conservative Americans. The Democrats wouldn't actually do it, but it's the kind of paternalistic thinking that Democrats are more associated with, and which is utterly hated by Republicans. It's actually federal law that the US uses the Metric system, but nobody has ever taken any notice of the law that was enacted. Only the individual States can do something like that and be taken notice of.
I think Burma ought to do this, to switch from right to left... their cars are RHD, and the countries it borders drive on the left.
Nicholas Weiner
Burma uses MPH. Do you imagine that you drive cars with km/h only in MPH countries like UK and USA?
50MPH = 80km/h.
1MPH = 1.61km/h
Nicholas Weiner
They need to have MPH and km/h universal speed pedometer. To avoid confusions by speeding at the same time.
Nicholas Weiner
Canada and Mexico uses km/h, USA and Belize uses MPH.
As long you get to the border, you need to follow on these limits either MPH (to USA or Belize) or km/h (to Canada or Mexico).
Countries in Africa like Liberia uses MPH.
The speedometer shows km/h and miles/h in Canada but the km/h numbers are larger. They should just get rid of miles. It is useless to have 2 sets of measurements.
Vrej Egon Spengler
If I don't have MPH on km/h gauge while going passing the US or Belize border crossing, then you need to be careful of what you're speeding.
Canadian 2008 Saturn Astra have km/h larger and MPH at the small bottom of km/h.
In Mexico, 2008 Chevrolet Astra does not have MPH but only in km/h.
So If you owned a car with the steering wheel on the right,like all Swedish people did the back then,your car because less desirable and dangerous to use over night.
Wrong - back then 90% of Swedish people actually drove cars with the steering wheel on the left hand side.
Most of us are right handed, so driving a manual car (left hand on the stick, right on the wheel) has to be safer.
Shouldn't your best arm be controlling the wheel?
Craig Moran
In the Philippines, RHD cars are banned.
The Japanese 2nd hand RHD Toyota Lucida/Estima/Emina (Previa) had converted from RHD to LHD, as you can see the Shift gears stays at the left side connected to the steering column, parking brakes switched from the right side near right front door and right front seat to the middle side between these front seats for more easier access to brake. Sliding doors are only to be stayed at the left, and as we know that minivan is imported from Japan.
Crazy.
I've never driven right hand drive (left hand stick) but as someone proficient with a left hand drive (right side stick) manual I don't see safety as a problem. I'm right handed. I would think one would want finer motor control for the shifter to find gears than the steering wheel. Either way humans are very good at adapting.
(One day I want to visit the UK or Australia and experience right hand drive (left hand shifter) and then I'll have a better idea. :)
Well you won't have any trouble with the farm tractors in Aus. They just import them in, no changes. I actually own an auto car. But I drive right stick tractors at work Kioti/John Deer...weird hey!
I live in Australia so drive on the left, but regularly in Germany and the US. It's quite easy to get into the habit of driving a LHD car on the right side. The transition back to driving a RHD car seems to take a little longer. Not sure if it's a "left brain, right brain" thing or not.
Sweden once was very nice and glorious country...too bad sweden is going down right now...rip sweden
+wolfigy Oh yes Sweden is becoming worse than North Korea.
TheRaven7
There are some Japanese RHD imported vehicles are driven in North Korea. Same thing in Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan.
These countries drives at the right.
Sweden is worse than syria
🙊🐵🙈🙉🍻
Do you know why North America became a right-lane driving society?
And all of America by the way. I think Bermuda is a left-lane driving.
Countries which drive on the left are mostly (obviously not all!) ones which have been part of the British Empire or are British Overseas Territories (such as Bermuda).
Billy Bob Bunton
Guyana (British Guiana) and Suriname (Dutch Guiana) are the only South American countries drives on the left hand traffic with RHD vehicles.
+Billy Bob Bunton Sympathy and allegiance with the French and at war with the Brits in the Foundation years... Simple.
Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic drive on the right. Every other the sovereign island in the Caribbean drives on the left.
Nice to se Malmo before the invasion.